2016 Annual Meeting

John Howard Association thanks all who attended, supported, or volunteered at our Annual Meeting. Held on September 28, 2016 at the University Club of Chicago, more than 250 board members, young professional board members, donors, funders, partners, supporters, volunteers, friends and staff were on hand to hear about the important work of the John Howard Association. The luncheon was generously underwritten in Loving Memory of Julius Hemmelstein, a former JHA board member from 1970-2015. We greatly appreciate our Platinum Patrons, who included Sidley Austin Foundation, Project I-11, and Cynthia Kobel.

Guest Speaker Adam Foss, Co-Founder and President of Prosecutor Integrity, spoke on “Opportunity over Punishment: A Prosecutor’s New Charge.” He spoke about the importance of prosecutors using their vast discretionary power responsibly, and treating each person in the justice system as an individual, with dignity, fairness and understanding, saying, “Protecting victims is not about using this regimented system that we’ve been using forever… Take each case as a person.” Adam encourages all new prosecutors to learn about the people they charge and incarcerate, because, as he stated, “we need to stop looking at our young men and women as failures, and be responsible for the failures of our system every time they have asked for help.” In doing this, Adam says, we have an opportunity to create real change that will ultimately increase public safety and improve outcomes by providing opportunity for people who previously had little or no chance of success.

Executive Director Jennifer Vollen-Katz presented the following awards, thanking the recipients for their contributions to creating a fair, humane and effective criminal justice system: